Sir Ian McGeechan has given a significant boost to Stuart Lancaster's chances of keeping the England job permanently. The former Lions coach, a likely member of the RFU's five-man selection panel, admitted to being impressed at England's rapid progress under the Saxons coach following a dire World Cup.

The director of rugby at Bath would neither confirm nor deny his standing but is expected to be one of Premier rugby's two representatives on the panel that chooses between Lancaster, the former South Africa and Italy coach Nick Mallett, and the outsiders, John Kirwan, the former All Black and until recently coach of Japan, and Eddie O'Sullivan, long-time coach of Ireland.

McGeechan, one of the most respected names in the game after being head coach with the Lions in 1989, 1993, 1997 and 2009, said Lancaster had consulted before the Six Nations and he was impressed by the environment the former Saxons coach had created within the England camp. He stopped short of endorsing Lancaster but added: "He had to put his own values out there and I think he's done that; what he wanted to do. And that's when you have to be really open with the players. How you see England, how they go forward."

McGeechan spoke of the clarity in Lancaster's thinking at the head of a slimmed down coaching team of Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell. "He has Graham Rowntree involved – and I have a huge amount of respect for him – and Andy Farrell, who has been through a lot of different rugby experiences, one of the most respected players. It's a coaching group that works.He had to establish what he wanted first and it's quite awkward being in an interim position because you are only planning for five games. You have to have a really clear idea of what you want and I think he has done that really well. He's been open with everybody, he's said what he expected."

McGeechan was also impressed by Owen Farrell's debut at fly-half in Saturday's close-run defeat by Wales and the way England have bounced back after the bad times at the World Cup. "There is a clarity about the thinking. They know what they're doing and I think Stuart's got that over," he said.

The other league representative on the RFU panel is likely to be Conor O'Shea, whose Harlequins currently top the Premier league and who said yesterday that he would be "delighted" to help select Martin Johnson's permanent successor, if asked. The Twickenham representatives on the panel are likely to be Rob Andrew, the RFU's professional rugby director, and head of elite coach development Kevin Bowring. It will be chaired by the RFU's new chief executive Ian Ritchie, who took office on Monday.

Andy Robinson, meanwhile, might by nearing the end of his time with Scotland after 11 defeats from 13 matches in the Six Nations. The former England coach has denied even considering walking away from Edinburgh but with a close friend from Loughborough, Bruce Craig, now owning Bath and another, Nick Blofeld, the club's chief executive, a move south would be no surprise should a third Six Nations be deemed a failure. "That's a decision Robbo has to make," said McGeechan, whose own role would be affected by the return of a man who coached Bath to Heineken Cup success in 1998. "Certainly there is no one at Bath who can make that decision for Andy Robinson. I just think they are very unlucky at the moment. If they had played against England as they played at the weekend they would have beaten them.

"You have to look beyond the numbers some times. If you ask are Scotland in a better place now than they have been for some time? Absolutely. They have been in positions where they could have had five or six wins in the last 13, or five or six wins out of the last five or six games. They have been in the running with all of them."